Long-considered a top show of '87, IIRC it didn't become a must-hear until '89-'90. But it used to be hard to find a clean copy, with many distorted, hissy or ill-pitched AUDs going around (and there were other great shows from '87 vying for the deck). It stands up today though; probably in the top 5 for the year. Yes, lots of good shows were pulled out of MSG – often one per run as an unusually good night. But this show still ranks, and is known in particular for a hot sequence in the second set (which was probably traded more than the whole show BITD of B & P). But you gotta do the whole show, don'cha know.

First Set. Bobby does a Rocky & Bullwinkle intro. If you don't get it, neither did the people there. On the off-night of the run, he & Jer were on Letterman, where Bobby worked up a "parlor trick" – he & Dave and Biff & Paul lifted Jer from his chair. They also played Masterpiece and showed a clip from their upcoming release, So Far. Hellina takes off slamming and snarling. Jer can take an extra measure and not lose anyone – a good sign for the night. The whole set's above average, but the Candyman is just about the year's best. Masterpiece also stands out and the Bird Song really goes places – though the drummers aren't always in the same place, and the mix on 30 Trips is too light on Jer. One song shorter than most, though not the shortest set from the era.

Second Set. Solid, '87 GOGD, until coming out of Space. Goin' Down the Road had been a rarity in '87, and this one comes out tight & uptempo – perhaps even better than Red Rocks or Chicago. That sets up nice for one of the best sequences ever! The Watchtower through the Good Lovin' reprise is why we love this band. Good gods this is the prize. Watchtower is probably top 5 for the Brent era. Well of course Morning Dew is better than Cornell '77, since that one isn't the best of that year. But it's also better than 10/19/73, 9/10/74, 9/2/80... La Bamba was played into Good Lovin' in '70, but on this tour it was revived...in reverse. The encore is great – though admittedly I'm partial to Brent's Knockins.

1st Set:  B
2nd Set: A-
Overall = 4½ stars

Highlights:
Hell in a Bucket – rocket sled and Jer takes more
Candyman – all falls into place, don't miss
Second Set – in particular the highly-regarded Goin' Down the Road>encore sequence. Enjoy.

SOURCES: The 137535_sbd_miller is the most complete and dynamic SBD. The SBDs that first circ'd were boomy, brickwalled (like cole_19002) and clipped. There's a good Tobin matrix (134455.mtx) and several good AUDs. 30 Trips has the whole show, using the Healy "ultra-mix" SBD (a mic matrix made at the board, not a tape matrix as sometimes listed). Definitive Live has Morning Dew. The show's usually up on YouTube (sans Man Smart & Drums>Space).

Having spent the night in a television-free hostel and the day tracking down the towed car (100 bucks, must be a million today), I had no context for the Rocky and Bullwinkle and levitation thing that preceded Bucket. I had made a sign for the first time in my life. I forget what it said but I think I went for the low-hanging fruit and kept it simple for once in my life. I got a ticket for face after having my face stolen right off my head on Tuesday night by New York's finest scalper scum. I got another gift after unceremoniously asking for it loudly in the middle of the crowd as we were being herded into the venue. I think he just wanted me to shut up. Thanks again 34 yrs later for the ride.


The crowd energy the band seemed to be deflecting back at the crowd on Tuesday (which seemed like a Monday) and which they maybe had a little too much too fast of on Wednesday, was flowing symbiotically back and forth on this night. The Bucket met the wave from the crowd and the energy doesn’t dissipate, nor does the band’s collective focus. The first set does seem cut short despite the good, but dare I say it, overrated Birdsong, that continued in the vein of the one introduced on New Years with a strumming frenzy before the return to the chorus. This was a novelty but not, most of the people around me thought, enough to warrant closing a short first set with it. Sugaree is one of the great post-coma ones though. It checks all the boxes of a great one, even an attempt at a Lewiston-style flare up but in other ways it seems more paint by numbers than the GD prior to Dec. 86.

That big city intensity is palpable when they come back for the Shakedown; it has the grittiness, density and speedy giddiness of the city at that time and place. The Terrapin is truly a top 10 version, highly lyrical with loads of kinetic energy pushed along by Phil’s rumblings, a presence that is ever-present in this set and acts as the catalyst on this night in Phil's favorite metropolis.

Edgy Drums with a post-apocalyptic search light sound coming from the beam while Bill plays the Beast drums along the back. The post-drums is where it’s at with a scorching Watchtower into the famous Dew, which delivers like they said it would. This is a high energy, very very good show. The best show of the run would be the Saturday show, when they were firing on all syringes and the t.v. lights were flashing.

Show is awesome- for any era. It's spirited and high-energy from the get-go and never relents. This is the best audio in the archive, but you might want to check voodoonola's video on youtube. It's incomplete, but still fun to watch. Listen to the Bucket and Sugaree openers and you'll be hooked.

Show marks the third night of a five-night 87 MSG residency; their first of six residencies there. This whole show is great, but the definite highlight includes the entire post-space suite (as Mind Wonderin mentions). Absolutely relentless. Show ranks only behind 12/31/87 (62) as "favorite tapes" in deadbase; 9/18 comes in with 52 votes.